The passing of Dexter Scott King continues to impact the nation. On Jan. 23, Dexter’s sister, Dr. Bernice King, joined family members at the King Center to shed light on her fallen brother’s legacy.
Dexter Scott King, the youngest son and the third child of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King, has passed.
The King Center announced that Dexter passed after a valiant battle with prostate cancer. He transitioned at his home in Malibu, California.
During the press conference, Bernice provided insight on Dexter’s character and skills as a businessman.
“Dexter always had this interest in business,” Bernice said. “He always was very creative and innovative. He was so ambitious. He started a photography business. And then he started a DJ business. He used to DJ parties. And I was trying to follow Dexter again. When I was a teenager probably around 18, I started DJing parties myself.”
She also spoke about how Dexter’s jobs as correctional officer and his work at a funeral home. But he would eventually make it a point to implement business strategies.
“In 1995, he took the helm of leadership at the King Center in the role as the CEO,” she said. “He had a vision to build something that would bring my father to life through technology. Fast forward today. We understand that people didn’t understand it then. And so he came under vicious attack through the media and others who didn’t understand. They felt his intent was for profit. But Dexter had a prophetic intent. He saw into the future and had that not been disrupted, we would have had something in this nation that could have been very potent and powerful for where we are today. And so that attack may have slowed things down.”
Bernice also spoke about Dexter bringing a multitude of artists together in 1986 for the “King Holiday” song which featured artists such as Whitney Houston, Stephanie Mills, Kurtis Blow and more. Prince financed the music video.
“In 1986, when we had that first King holiday, Dexter started gathering artists all over the nation to put together that video and song,” she said. “That will live because of Dexter’s vision. The King holiday song was executive produced by Dexter.”
Dexter understood the value of King’s work and made sure that the content was protected.
“People didn’t understand and thought all of his intellectual work belonged to the public,” Bernice said. “He reminded us that daddy protected his own intellectual property. He copyrighted and went to court over the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.”
But beyond the business, Bernice spoke about the good times and just having fun with Dexter as her younger brother.
“I’m gonna miss the conversations, the laughs, the reminiscing and the brilliance,” she said. “And in many ways, the protection. He was a fierce protector. Misunderstood, but he loved his family.”
